Why have regimes and societies that would otherwise argue for their distinctiveness and sovereign decision-making caught 'ranking fever' in HE? Why are they willing to give up their sovereignty in the field of HE, and why do they accept the requirement of homogeneity to succeed in global university rankings? This paradox is explored in the case of Russia. The ranking discourse is analysed at the national and institutional levels using interviews, documents, and media materials. The impetus to 'internationalise' education and research, and the aspiration to be globally ranked, is explained using the status, neoliberal competition and state control frames. These conflict with 'nationalisation' part of the discourse, manifested in the resistance to global university rankings and the debates surrounding a Moscow-based ranking. These debates confirm that there is a willingness to internationalise and integrate Russian HE into the neoliberal model of HE on Russia's terms in preference to self-isolation.